I/Ca in epifaunal benthic foraminifera: A semi-quantitative proxy for bottom water oxygen in a multi-proxy compilation for glacial ocean deoxygenation

Abstract The decline in dissolved oxygen in global oceans (ocean deoxygenation) is a potential consequence of global warming which may have important impacts on ocean biogeochemistry and marine ecosystems. Current climate models do not agree on the trajectory of future deoxygenation on different timescales, in part due to uncertainties in the complex, linked effects of changes in ocean circulation, productivity and organic matter respiration. More (semi-)quantitative reconstructions of oceanic oxygen levels over the Pleistocene glacial cycles may provide a critical test of our mechanistic understanding of the response of oceanic oxygenation to climate change. Even the most promising proxies for bottom water oxygen (BWO) have limitations, which calls for new proxy development and a multi-proxy compilation to evaluate glacial ocean oxygenation. We use Holocene benthic foraminifera to explore I/Ca in Cibicidoides spp. as a BWO proxy. We propose that low I/Ca (e.g., 15%) may provide semi-quantitative estimates of low BWO in past oceans (e.g.,